


Bad dates and (not quite) death escapes

by quigui



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Date, Fluff, M/M, Sterek Secret Santa 2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3258185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quigui/pseuds/quigui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles asks Derek out. It doesn't go well (only it does)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad dates and (not quite) death escapes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [howtogetawaywithassholes](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=howtogetawaywithassholes).



> Late pitch in for Sterek Secret Santa 2014 for [howtogetawaywithassholes](http://howtogetawaywithassholes.tumblr.com/). [[Link]](http://stereksecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/106142843052/merry-christmas-howtogetawaywithassholes)

Derek sits down on the table where Scott, Stiles and Lydia are already eating in silence. They look exhausted. Derek supposes that asking them to help with supernatural business during their finals wasn't his best idea. He just joins in on the silent eating.

"You know, since I almost died last weekend," Stiles startles everyone.

"You almost died? What happened?" Derek asks. It's the first he hears of this and there have been no threats recently. Lydia just rolls her eyes, and Scott assures Stiles that he **_didn't_** almost die, meaning it isn't the first time they hear about it.

"Yeah, some dude tried to mug us," Stiles answers as if it is common knowledge.

"Us…?"

"Scott and I."

Derek looks at Scott, because with a werewolf present, a mugging wouldn't equate to almost dying. A mugging wouldn't even take place. Scott just shakes his head, with an expression that Derek has come to identify as _'just indulge him'_.

"How exactly did you manage to almost die?"

"You make it sound like it's my fault! And it's not. Totally not my fault. I was minding my own business, I had just got off work, paycheck in my pocket, and this guy comes up to me with a knife and wants to take my money. My hard earned money!"

"Scott was with you." Scott, who is already back at pushing his food around and ignoring the conversation. So is Lydia. Leaving Derek with the task of paying attention to what Stiles is saying and steering him to get on with it.

"Right, but the guy was pretty quick, and stabbed me! I tried to fight back, but I was wounded, you know? Scott eventually scared him away."

"I still don't get how you almost died."

"Weren't you listening to me? I was stabbed! See!" Stiles lifts his t-shirt, and sure enough there is a bandage and some bruising. Derek is far more interested on Stiles happy trail.

"What's with that face? I got stitches, you know? You think this is a light wound, because you can heal, but I'm human! I'm fragile! It could have nicked my lung, and then I would be dead!"

"Stiles," Scott admonishes, without looking up. "You got 2 stitches, it was nowhere near your lung and the reason you got stabbed was because you can't stay still and nearly impaled yourself on the guy's knife."

"Thanks, buddy. Trivialize my suffering, disregard the danger I was in…”

"Was there a point to this story, Stiles?" Lydia asks. "I mean, I've probably heard this about 3 or 4 times already, and it's been only 3 days."

"Yes, of course there was a point. I didn't mean to relive such a traumatic incident just for kicks. What I was going to say right when I started was: Since I almost died last weekend, I have started to rethink my priorities and choices. I mean, life is so fleeting…"

"You got that from being mildly stabbed but not from a) a lunatic alpha that could have been mindcontrolling your best friend, b) a kanima, c) psycho hunters that were very likely to shoot you just because you associated with werewolves, d) a pack of power thirsty alphas that wanted to get your best friend to join their club, e) a crazy dark druid that had no problem with sacrificing her students who had never had an encounter with the supernatural, f) being possessed by a freaking Japanese demon fox, g) berserkers, h) a death pool with your friends' names on it, i) professional assassins taking out people on that list, from garroting to setting them on fire, and including a tomahawk welding guy that had no mouth, j) an insane warden that had been killing people for years and that you managed to piss off, and k) fucking Kate being back from the dead and still batshit crazy and working with my batshit crazy uncle who also didn't know how to stay dead?" Derek asks.

"Don't forget that time he actually died, with Scott and Allison, just to try to find out where his father was." Lydia pipes in.

"Let's not forget that," Derek agrees. He is sure he is forgetting other situations where Stiles did almost die.

"Wow, you really got the last few years well summarized." Stiles does sound surprised. "But you derailed my point. Again."

"What was your point, Stiles?" By now, Derek is curious and annoyed in equal measures.

Stiles turns to him and looks him in the eye, dead serious for once. "The point was that since I almost died, I think I shouldn't waste my time second guessing what I do, and what I want. So, I think the two of us should have dinner sometime."

Derek is speechless for a moment. Shit like this shouldn't surprise him anymore, especially coming from Stiles. Yet it did.

He recovers, and then just shrugs and says, "Okay," going back to his food.

"Okay? Just like that?"

"Yes,” he answers without lifting his eyes from his food. Stiles stares at him for a minute, before getting back to eating. 

\--- 

The restaurant they end up in turns out to be fancy enough to surprise Derek. A lot of young people around, nicely dressed, in pairs or in groups, all nicely dressed. As they are taken to their table, their reserved table, Stiles confesses that it was Lydia's idea.

"I really didn't think you would say yes. I mean, I had given no thought to where I would take you on a date."

"Restaurant works fine with me. I eat. And it didn't have to be today."

"Wasn't going to give you a chance to rethink your choices."

Once they are sitting down and have made their orders, they stare at each other in awkward silence.

"Didn't think about conversation either?" Derek asks.

"Honestly, never thought it would be a problem with me. But somehow I don't think you'd want to know about the history of male circumcision, or the much more troubling history of female circumcision."

"Neither seem appropriate as dinner time conversation."

"I really should have put some thought into this before asking you out. No idea what to dress, no idea where to take you, no idea what to talk about. What does one talk about with Derek Hale on a date? What does one do with Derek Hale on a date at all?"

"Why are you talking about me like I'm some kind of mystical creature?" Not that Derek doesn't like Stiles calling his name, but he had rather hoped it wouldn't be in befuddlement.

"You're a werewolf, dude."

"You know what I meant."

"I mean. You're… you. Hot. Smoking hot. With a backlog of bad relationships that would keep a sane person away."

"I've been dealing with it," Derek mutters defensively.

"It actually shows. You're a lot less growly these days."

"So, why did you even ask me out?"

"'Cause you're smoking hot and I'm not sane?" Stiles shrugs, and Derek would ask for a better answer, but they get distracted by the arrival of their food.

He has just taken the first bite out of his steak when Stiles restarts their conversation.

"Why did you agree to the date?"

"Well, since you could still die from your… wounds, I didn't feel like it would be very nice to deny what could be your last wish."

"Really funny, Derek. Almost died. Not dying. Big difference. Wait, were you just taking the piss? I mean, I actually like you, it's not just hotness and insanity driving me here.”

"To be completely honest, I thought I had already missed my chance," Derek confesses.

"What do you mean?"

"When you were in high school, I kind of figured you were interested, at least you smelled like it. And I'm not saying I didn't find you fascinating then, because I did, except on the days when I felt like killing you. But even I am not dumb enough to make a move on the underage son of the local sheriff. Then you started getting girlfriends, and didn't seem all that interested in me anymore. So I just assumed you had outgrown that crush."

"Wow, you're telling me we've could have been at this while I was in high school?"

"I'm telling you we wouldn't have been at this while ** _you were_** in high school."

"But you're into me."

"Yes, I'm into you."

\--- 

They exit the restaurant, not hand in hand, but definitely closer than when they walked in.

"So… What now?" Derek asks, as they stop by the Jeep.

"Need I remind you that I have no plan at all? That the restaurant was Lydia's idea? I mean, if it were up to me we would have ended up with take out and spending our date in bed."

"Who do you take me for? I'm not that easy. Date in bed is stuff for the 3rd or 4th date," Derek teases. Date in bed with Stiles sounds like an amazing idea and he is disappointed Stiles decided to enlist Lydia’s help.

"Well, if we make it that far, I'll give you a date in bed."

"We'll make it that far," he assures Stiles, holding his hand. He is willing to bet they'll make it much farther than that.

Stiles smiles at Derek's confidence. "It's a date then. And despite how this one is going, I want you to remember that I already have our 3rd date planned." Stiles looks at his car. "I suppose we can go to the Jungle, everyone is there. Scott suggested that could be my backup plan.”

"Backup plan?" He didn't know dates had backup plans.

"If the date sucked. I would join them there. And then I would drown my sorrows in alcohol."

Derek hadn't even thought that the date could suck that much. He had expected worse in terms of planning, but it not working out had never crossed his mind. "We can still go," he suggests. He knows Stiles likes to dance. He likes to watch Stiles dance. It seems like a win-win situation to him.

\---- 

Derek loses sight of Stiles almost as soon as they enter the club, but can hear bits of his voice through the music and the noise of the people shouting at each other.

_"…going great. At least I think so."_

_"…"_

_"I was out of ideas."_

He imagines he is talking to Scott or Lydia. He knows he shouldn't eavesdrop, but Stiles' voice is all he has to guide him.

_"No, we haven't kissed. Is that bad?"_

Derek wants nothing more than to kiss Stiles' worries away, but he is also very averse to having his first kiss with him in a club that smells of sweat and lust, and almost none of it even remotely related with Stiles.

He tries to reach Stiles, following the sound of his voice, but he finds his way blocked.

"What's up, cousin?" Malia shouts in his ear, as if forgetting that he can hear her fine even with the loud music. She seems to have scored some kind of were-approved liquor.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

"How are you, Malia?" He asks, hoping to make the exchange of pleasantries quick.

"Having fun. Kira and I raided her mum's special cabinet."

"It shows."

"So, you're with Stiles, hum?" she asks.

"Yeah, I came with him."

"Oh, from what I heard no one came yet. I can give you some pointers, if you're stumped."

Definitely drunk. "No, definitely not. No offence, but the last thing I want is sex advice from you."

"Because we're family, because I have past experience or because I'm younger than you?"

"All of the above."

"I'm sure you'll figure out something." Malia grabs his head and just bumps her forehead into his. "Just, don't hurt him, okay? And don't let him hurt you. And don't let him hurt himself. He's good at doing that."

Derek is moved by Malia's concern, and is about to nod at her, but she just kisses his forehead and disappears into the mass of dancing people.

He has barely taken 3 steps when he finds himself surrounded by drag queens. Stiles' friends, he recalls.

"Oh, so you are the big bad wolf," the first one teases, and Derek tenses in alarm. Has Stiles told them about him?

"What big muscles you have!" someone to his right says, draping an arm over his shoulder.

"And what big hands you have!" someone to his left says, mimicking her friend.

"I bet there are other big things he has," someone says behind him, and he is afraid one of them is going to check. Instead, the same person whispers in his ear, "Honey, if it doesn't pan out with little red over there, I'll happily let you eat me."

Derek just feels his jaw drop. He has been harassed before, but never quite like this.

"Just don't mess around with our Stiles. We've been looking out for that boy for a long time," the first queen warns.

So, that's what the show was all about, Derek thinks. "You don't have to worry. I've been looking out for him for almost as long."

"So he says. Still, consider yourself warned." He feels, more than sees, all the queens moving away, while that first one still stares at him. Eventually she turns, and walks way, letting Derek resume his trek to Stiles.

He is almost there, he can already see him, when he is cornered by Lydia.

"So, Derek. How is the date going?"

"It’s going well," he grunts.

"Really? Because I wasn't expecting to see Stiles here today. And I sure wasn't expecting to see him all alone." He stares ahead to see him alone by the bar.

"I'm trying to get there, Lydia. Not my fault people keep stopping me," he points out.

"You're a werewolf, Derek. You can move faster than this. And you are so very good at avoiding people. If you were interested, you'd never let him out of your sight. You would have kissed him already. And you both wouldn't be here."

"Lydia. I like you, most of the time, but mind your own damn business."

Lydia is shocked enough for Derek to make his escape.

When he finally gets to Stiles, he is just sitting there, nursing a beer, looking sad.

"Hey, are you okay?" Derek asks.

"I think this was a huge mistake."

"Come on, it's not that bad."

"I'm wounded."

"It's just 2 stitches, Stiles."

"And I think I've ripped them!" Stiles shouts and understanding dawns on Derek.

"Oh. Let's go." He just grabs Stiles hand and drags him out.

\---

"Let me look at it," Derek asks Stiles as soon as they are inside his loft. When he turns from closing the door, he finds Stiles shirtless and slouched on his couch. If only the circumstances were different.

He kneels in front of Stiles, who just stares at the ceiling, resigned. Derek inspects the wound, removing the bandage. "Doesn't seem like you did much damage. Just bruised," he explains. "If it hurts, I can take the pain away."

Stiles just nods, and Derek puts his hands on his stomach and starts leaching away the pain.

There is a sigh of relief from Stiles, and Derek can see his shoulders lose their tension.

"Wow! That really works! I thought Scott was exaggerating. I could use you for hangover days."

"Don't trivialize my powers," he answers, taking his hands away.

"Don't trivialize my hangovers."

Derek chuckles, and moves to sit next to Stiles, knees touching. He wants to put an arm around his shoulders, but isn’t sure if it will be welcomed.

They sit in comfortable silence for a short while, until Stiles muses, "This was a wreck from start to finish, wasn't it? I mean, I needed help to come up with a fancy restaurant for dinner, for ideas on what to wear-"

"There is nothing wrong with that. I used to ask Laura for her opinion all the time."

"Yeah, but I bet you didn't spend your time telling your dates none of it was your idea. I had a backup plan in case it didn't go as I expected, for crying out loud! A backup plan we ended up using anyway. And even that backfired because now I'm even more injured than when I was actually stabbed, and it's not just my pride."

"Don't forget the part where I was threatened if I ever hurt you."

"When was that?"

"At the club, when I lost you."

"Scott, Lydia and who else?"

"Lydia, Malia and your drag friends that were a bit too handsy."

"See, a train wreck all the way through."

"Well, it's us. We're lucky we didn't get attacked by a giant lizard or something."

There's a bitter laugh from Stiles. "It's not too late. Don't go tempting fate."

"Look, it wasn't like you had to impress me or something. I've known you since you were sixteen. I certainly knew what I was signing up for when I accepted and I didn’t even have to think much before saying yes."

"I know that. I just wished it had gone differently, you know? That I could have still impressed you. Even though I didn't really have a plan, this is not what I had in mind at all," Stiles explains, looking at his hands, picking at his fingers, and generally not looking at Derek.

"What did you have in mind?"

"The usual movie stuff. I would pick you up, you would be stunning, which is about the only thing that has gone according to plan because you are always stunning. Then dinner, with pleasant conversation, not awkward silence, maybe staying at the table talking until they kicked us out. I thought about taking a walk in the park, but have you seen the parks in Beacon Hills? It's guaranteed you'll get brutally murdered by some supernatural creature. But yeah, we would do something fun. Just the two of us, though, not with everyone we know looming over us and apparently threatening you. I would then bring you back home, take you to your door, which also doesn't really work out because you live in an ugly ass building, but still, it's the effort that counts. Then you would say something like _'I had a great time tonight'_ , I would kiss you goodnight, get back into my car, and go back home to count the hours till I saw you again. Probably would text you that I was already missing you before I would arrive home. Probably as soon as I got back to the car."

"Stiles?"

Stiles hums in response, turning to face Derek.

Derek stares into his eyes and smiles. "I had a great time tonight."


End file.
